Dia del Madre, Writing, C.A.M., Friends, Walks and Lines

May 15th, 2013

Of the many observations I have made while in Peru, the most startling is Peruvian’s willingness to stand in line for hours. It is a part of life here in Peru that exceeds my experience in the USA. I have an aversion to standing in line for anything. It goes back to my days in the Navy, but that’s another story. It’s not uncommon to see a line of people here stretching for blocks simply to pay a bill, make a deposit in the bank, or conduct business with any number of governmental agencies. It doesn’t seem to matter what day of the week and the lines will snake along the street until the building closes for the day. I often wonder how these people get off work to conduct business.

I believe this necessity is caused by the fact that Peru doesn’t really have a working postal system. They have one, SerPost, but there is no guarantee that your package or letter will arrive. Living in Peru has given me a true appreciation of the US Postal Service. The other contributing factor is most likely the fact that banks in Peru do not offer checking accounts. So, unlike the US, you can’t write a check and put it in the mail here. They do have internet banking but there is a small charge for transactions to pay bills with companies not affiliated with your bank. It makes for one more interesting aspect of life in a foreign country. The good thing for me, they always have a “Senior Citizens” line with very few people in it. Vanity I guess.

Taking walks through my neighborhood always gives me a glimpse into life in San Borja, the district in Lima where I live. Over the years that I’ve been here, the people I pass most days as I go about the business of live have gotten used to me. No one stares at the tall gringo as he goes to the market, does his banking or wanders the streets camera in hand. Most, actually say,”Buenos dias, ktal, ¿como estas?” when I pass by. Some of the neighbors actually wave from their apartment windows leave to run errands. It might just be me but I’m noticing a growing sense of community, something that was definitely missing when I first came to Lima.

I’ve managed to exceed all my writing goals for the past week. The progress I have made and the beautiful fall weather we have been experiencing here in Lima has lifted my spirits and given me the encouragement I need to finish my second novel. A short article on the Flowers of Lima and photo essay by me were published in Peru this Week. Click on the link to read it. Once again, here’s the link to purchase my book Sacrifice: The Price Charming Murders. Writing is work that involves a lot of self-discipline. There’s no one here to put me at the keyboard and tell me to get to work. I’ve always enjoyed keeping journals and writing about my travels but fiction is even more enjoyable. I still have my lazy days but the will power to continue is stronger.

Mother’s Day was an enjoyable event for me here in Peru. We took Steve’s Mom, Jaita, and family to Cineguilla for lunch. The day was perfect, sunny, not too chilly and the traffic light for the day. We ate at a place that served Pollos Brasos family style in a picnic area. Afterwards, a drive through the country to look for land or homes for sale delighted the whole group. I got to see areas of Cineguilla that I have never been to before. Everyone seemed to have a good time and it helped ease thought of the loss of my parents.

Last Friday I met with Larry again at Bodega Verde. It seems out conversations of late have concentrated on our writing. Naturally we discussed other things going on, the gym, Mother’s Day plans, the economy and his step daughter’s progress in going back to work at the US Embassy just to mention a few. The coffee was good as always but the company is the best. Later, I joined Kathy at C.A.M. (the Contemporary Art Museum in Barranco) to check out the new exhibit. It was a fantastic exhibit. Three building were dedicated to different shows. The first featured a photographer, Scarlett Hooft Graafand, and works she did in Bolivia. What a creative mind this woman has. In the next room, a contemporary video presentation elicited a wide range of emotions. Scenes of wars, cattle slaughter, food rationing and more left a lasting impression on me. In the final room, works by artists from the 20s thru the 80s were on display. At least 50% of them were Peruvian artists. Sculptures by Pool Guillén and Armando Varela and paintings by Fenando Szyslo, Judith Wephalen, Armand Villegas and Victor Pasmore along with others displayed the wide range of talent throughout Latin America. I am eagerly looking forward to the next show at the museum.

Another entry completed. Visiting the museum has made me want to take up the brush again. I even have a first project in mind. Have a great week everyone. Hope you are enjoying life as much as I am. Get out and look for the beauty that surrounds you. Exercise you body and your mind, be and enjoy, make art!

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Writing, Articles for LiP, Coffee and Friends, Contemporary Art, Life in Lima

May 7th, 2013

My life here in Lima Peru involves a lot more than writing books and having coffees with friends. Here, much as it is in the rest of the world, I have to handle the daily dealings of life. Food has to be purchased, bills have to be paid, dishes washed, cooking done; you get the picture. I’ve lived in Lima for a little over four years now. The thrill of doing those common chores here in another country hasn’t worn off for me yet. For example, going to the local Mercado for fruits and vegetables continues to be quite the adventure. Although they always have my regular favorites, bananas, oranges, mangos, apples, and mandarins, there is a constant influx of new and exciting products. Some I have experienced and some I haven’t. Guanavana, camu camu, Lucuma, Pepino granadilla and maracuya are just a few that can be found on any given day. Of those, maracuya is my favorite. I’m told that it is an excellent way to lower your blood pressure naturally if it runs high.

Within a four block radius of my apartment here in San Borja, I can find someone who will repair almost anything. From a seamstress, who will actually make clothes for you, a man who repairs any type of electrical motor to people who will paint your house or install windows. The ingenuity of the Peruvian people and their entrepreneurship knows no bounds. It’s a half block to the nearest coffee/juice place and restaurants are plentiful. Pharmacies, dentists, doctor’s offices, well, let’s say I could fall out the door and get taken care of. One truly remarkable fact, physicians will make house calls here. I’m going to try and include more things about just living here in this amazing country in my future posts. I hope you enjoy it.

Writing takes up a good portion of my day. Now that I am setting goals for myself each week, I find that it encourages me to sit at the keyboard and work. I am well into part two of the Suitcase Murders and I am about to send my Detective on a dangerous assignment into the heart of Sendero Luminoso, the Shining Path, country. The followers of the communist terrorist group are not too fond of the police, especially in the Provinces. On another writing note, “Peru This Week,” published two of my articles this past week. One has to do with entertaining friends who visit here in Lima (click the previous to take you to the article) and the other is a restaurant review (click to read). And, while I’m adding links, here’s the link to purchase my first book, “Sacrifice: The Prince Charming Murders.”

Friday morning after adding 500 words to my book while sitting in Starbucks in Barranco, I joined Larry for coffee and chat at Bodega Verde. Once again, our conversation revolved mostly around writing and what we have been reading lately. Larry has read the first 40 pages of my new book and given me his blessing and encouragement to continue. It’s always great to have the support of your writer friends. I’m still working on finishing “Sudden Prey” by John Sanford. Larry is still making it to the gym regularly.

Afterwards I walked over to Barranco’s Contemporary Art Museum. Kathy had canceled our usual lunch to take an art class. Unfortunately they were just installing a new exhibit that opened this past Monday. I will go back this coming Friday to view the new works being hung. I did get to walk around the grounds though and see a couple of outdoor pieces that are on permanent display. They were very nice. That evening I joined Mona and Kelly for cocktails via Facetime, the first since their return from Cozumel Mexico. They had a very good time and since the weather is still rather winterish in Southern Illinois, Kelly wants to return for another week.

Kathy and I ended up having coffee together on Sunday morning. A large range of topics were discussed including how the art class went. She is working on sketching at this stage, essentially starting from the basics. She wants to add more creative endeavors to her life. As I have always said, exercise the body and the brain.

That’s it for this entry. Hope everyone has a great week regardless of where you are in the world. Get up, get out, do something you’ve never done before. Enjoy your life, it’s a precious gift.

 

 

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Writing, Goals, Book Sales, and Friends

April 28th, 2013

The past week I have once again met and exceeded my goals. I managed 2,000 words on the Suitcase Murders, submitted another article with photos to Living in Peru and now I’m working on an early release of a post to my webpage. So far, it’s been extremely helpful to put those targets out there to you all my friends and family to see at the beginning of each week. It’s a kind of incentive for me; I don’t want to disappoint all of you by not meeting them. The book is progressing nicely. I have outlined the solutions to the crimes in my head and plotted a course to get them all on paper. My Detective has three murders to solve that seem related to each other. How he and the brilliant forensic pathologist, Dr. Iris Delgado, solve the cases in the second part of the book will hopefully keep you turning the pages. All this is set with the backdrop of the Sendero Luminoso, the Shining Path a terrorist group, trying to kill anyone in their way.

Research takes up the larger portion of time with this novel. It takes place in 1986 and there is a lot I don’t know about Lima, the police, forensics, weapons and the terrorist group from this era. I am doing my best to search through historical papers and photos to give the reader an accurate picture of Lima and Peru during this time period. The first book, click this link to buy it, Sacrifice: The Prince Charming Murders, is written in third person. This book, which takes place twenty two years earlier and is written in first person, is strictly from Detective Rodriguez’s point of view. In the end, I plan on doing a series of three books this way and four books in third person starting with the Prince Charming book. It’s an ambitious project considering the point in my life where I am starting it. I will most assuredly have to increase my writing objectives to the point where I can finish two books a year.

I’m doing fairly well on getting articles to Living in Peru for publishing also. They now have a total of five unpublished articles to post over time and I still have quite a few in mind. Fortunately for them, I enjoy photography as much as writing so the articles are always accompanied by some good reference shots.

Book sales have dropped off to near zero. This has to be the hardest part of self publishing. Opportunities to promote your book are numerous on the internet but they all cost a considerable amount of money. Those that are free generally want you to give your book away for free also. I’m not ready to travel down that road yet. I’m still hopeful that someone with influence will read the book and give me a good review. My consolation in all this is that I still retain all rights to the book.

I met with friends on Friday again. Larry and I congregated at Bodega Verde after I finished my self imposed writing assignment at Starbucks. Once again we spent most of our time talking about our various projects and the progress or lack thereof. Larry is hitting the gym again. I’m happy to hear that but sad that my lazy butt hasn’t made it yet. Afterwards it was lunch with Kathy at Café Lima off of Parque Kennedy. We talked photography and painting. Kathy is taking up a class at the Senior Center that teaches drawing and painting. She starts this coming week and is very excited about it. She’s also taking lessons in photography from a mutual friend, Isabel. She wants to include more creative pursuits in her life. That evening, I joined Mona and Kelly for cocktails via Facetime again. They had a great time in Cozumel and I got to hear all about the fun times. They’d only been back a couple of days, just enough time to dry out as Mona put it. We always a good time catching up each week.

That’s it for this entry. I hope to include a visit to a couple of art shows in the coming week’s activities. Naturally a lot of writing will be involved and walks for more photographs. It seems I can never have enough photos. Have a ultra fantastic week everyone. Get up, get out, read a book, paint a pictures, write a poem, it doesn’t matter if you think you are good or not. Exercise your body and brain.

 

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Writing and Reading, Our Beautiful Weather, Friends, the National Museum of Peru

April 23rd, 2013

I set my writing goals for the past week low. Considering the things that might present obstacle to reaching them, I thought they were reasonable. I did manage to exceed them once again. A thousand words were added to the book; I posted to my webpage and managed to submit another article to Living in Peru. Considering my shortened week, I am very happy with what I accomplished. This week, the goals are: 1500 words on the book, getting this posted to my webpage, and coming up with another article for LiP. I shouldn’t have a problem meeting and exceeding those as long as some disaster doesn’t come out of nowhere to defeat them.

Part of writing is doing research and that has consumed my last couple of days. I needed to find out the type of cars that the Guardia Civil drove in 1986 and delve into the ocean’s currents off the coast of Lima. The suitcases containing the bodies of my murdered victims must be dropped off of a boat in the appropriate spot. That will provide clues as to who is committing them. Research on details in a foreign country can be daunting. I don’t speak, understand, or read Spanish well and most material that I’m interested in is written in that language. It helps that I have Steve to translate for me and other friends who offer support when I need it.

Sale of my book has dropped to near zero already. Only one book sold in the month of April so far. Getting the word out, even with the help of my friends has proved difficult. Unless you want to pay some big bucks, advertising and getting the word out over social media is almost impossible. The few sites who offer help, expect you to give the book away. I’m not ready to go down that path yet. Also, I’m still waiting to hear back from Carsten on publishing the book in the traditional manner. I am looking into using “Create Space,” a company associated with Amazon who will sell your book using “print on demand.” Once again, here’s the link to buy it for your Kindle or Android Device/PC using the Kindle Reader App.

http://www.amazon.com/Sacrifice-Prince-Charming-Murders-ebook/dp/B00BEHT13A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366731432&sr=8-1&keywords=Rodney+Dodig

We’re having some fantastic fall weather here in Lima Peru. The stretch of sunny days with a slight chill in the air is my favorite time of year. The sharp blue sky with cotton clouds that float lazily from horizon to horizon, stunning autumn flowers, and the wide variety of birds chattering outside beg you to go for long walks with camera in hand.

I met with my friends this past week. Larry and I shared a breakfast, coffee and great conversation at Bodega Verde in Barranco Friday morning. We spent most of the time talking about our progress with writing projects and ways to improve exceeding our goals. He’s taken on three more private students and the University wants him to teach a new class. I think he’ll be working till he drops. On Sunday I met Kathy for coffee at Sarcletti’s here in San Borja. I got to see her photos from her recent trip to Chile where she visited her son, a physicist, at the VLT (Very Large Telescope Array) high in the mountains. She had some stunning shots and interesting stories. My friends Mona and Kelly should be returning from their trip to Cozumel today. Unfortunately, their WiFi wasn’t good enough for us to enjoy cocktails together.

After coffee I took Kathy over to Peru’s National Museum. She had never visited it before. The one exhibit I want to mention here, was a showing of black and white photos taken by Carlos and Miguel Vargas from 1912 – 1930 in Arequipa. These are some of the most beautiful B&W photos I have ever seen. There is a coffee table book of their work available. The dancer with feathers photo is an example of their work. Here’s a link to buy the book if interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Arequipa-Blanco-1912-1930-Benavente-Adelma/dp/8475068057/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366732925&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Arequipa+Blanco+y+Negro%3A+El+Estudio+De+Arte+Vargas+Hnos.+1912-1930

That’s it for this entry. I hope all of you have a great week. I’m going to try and get back on schedule to post on Sundays. Keep your fingers crossed. My mantra, “exercise the body and the brain,” it’s so important to a long and creative life.

 

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DnA survive the Jungle and Lima, Larry and I discuss Publishing, Writing-what were those goals again, and another 5 Star Review, Boston and Evil

April 17th, 2013

My friends Doug and Anna Stevens arrived back from their trip down the Amazon River into the depths of the jungle. They had tall tales to tell of cannibals, man eating ants, giant sloths, piranhas’, and secret lodge ceremonies with ancient Shamans. I may have exaggerated some of that a bit but they did have a great time. They used the same company, Explorama Lodges, which I and my sister used when we took friends to that area of Peru. They spent 5 days and 4 nights using two different lodges located on different parts of the river. They brought back wonderful memories and a large number of photos and movies to share with their friends back home. They both bubbled over with talk of the amazing experience and how much they enjoyed the experience.

After a good night’s rest back at my apartment, it was off to the historical center of Lima to show them some of the amazing sights in the City of Kings. Steve gave us a ride to the Plaza de Armas where we met a friend of mine, Dario, who wanted to join us on my little tour. We started with the Lima Cathedral, Archbishop’s Palace with its stunning balconies, and the Presidential Palace. Cameras at the ready, we headed over to the San Francisco Church and its catacombs but not before stopping in Cordano’s for a delicious ham sandwich. While they toured the underground vaults with its hundreds of thousands of bones, I hung out in a café and read a bit on my book. Once they retrieved me, we headed back past the Convent of Santo Domingo, the statue of the Shoe Shine Boy to Casa Osambela while I gave them the history of each location. Other sights included Casa Grau, Iglesia San Agustin, Casa Riva Aguero, Palacio Torre Tagle, Casa Goyeneche and Iglesia San Pedro. In there we stopped for Pisco Sours at the Bolivar Hotel twice and had lunch at Huerfanos, the oldest Italian Restaurant in Lima. That pretty much wore them out for the day, especially after those two giant drinks at the hotel.

On Monday we headed over to Miraflores early in the morning for breakfast and sightseeing. After a stop at Dunkin Donuts and a walk through Parque Kennedy, we were off to the Larcomar Mall and a walk along the malecon. We passed the lighthouse and headed up Ave. Prado once we reached the Michel Grau Park. A quick snack and rest to revive us helped to get them to Huaca Pucllana for a tour of the best archaeological site in Miraflores. Naturally, a few moments in the Inca Market for souvenirs had both of them wishing they had brought more money. Or, maybe they were glad they hadn’t. They escaped with only a few extra bags of Peruvian goods as we headed over to Barranco by cab to enjoy a nice late lunch overlooking the ocean. Of course I managed to get in a small tour of the Bridge of Sighs area before heading down the Bajadas de Baños for to eat at Javier’s. Tuesday ended up being a day of rest with a quick trip to Wong for some last minute items (bottles of Pisco) to take home with them. They’re on a plane headed to Miami as I write this having departed with hugs and kisses and my mantra to all friends and family, “Love You.”

While DnA were in the jungle, I had my weekly meeting with Larry. We mostly discussed publishing and how tough it was to get a book in front of readers these days. A smattering of economics was thrown in to liven up the conversation up and we enjoyed a good breakfast served by the staff at Bodega Verde as we chatted. Kathy was still in Chile so I didn’t get to have lunch with her again this past week. I’m hoping to hear all about her adventures at our next get together.

I’m sure you have guessed by now that my writing goals suffered this past week as a result of all this. I did manage to get a few words down on the book, send in an article to LiP, and post to my webpage. All wasn’t lost in the flurry of good times and pisco sours. My friends are gone now. I have to make new goals for this week. I plan to get 500 words added to the Suitcase Murders, finish this post, and write an article for Living in Peru by the end of the day, Sunday. Not overly aggressive but there are other projects and chores around the apartment that need to be done also. Wish me luck. On another note, I received another great 5 star review on my book, “Sacrifice: The Prince Charming Murders.”

“This is the best novel I have read since Grisham’s King of Torts or Kathy Riech’s Deja Dead. Fast-paced and packed with a bounty of exciting characters, this is a must read for “suspense” junkies. The setting in Lima, Peru, comes alive through the author’s crafty use of local Spanish jargon while explaining their customs with the ease of a master novelist. Fantastic!”

Here’s the link to buy the book for your Kindle or Kindle Reader App.

http://www.amazon.com/Sacrifice-Prince-Charming-Murders-ebook/dp/B00BEHT13A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366222677&sr=8-1&keywords=rodney+dodig

I’m sure every blogger on the internet has felt the need to comment on the incident at the Boston Marathon. What a horrible crime against so many innocent people. We have the same types of crimes being committed against innocent people all around the world. I can’t let myself think about the evil being committed by those few human beings, if you can call them that, but must concentrate on all those who strive to help those in need whether it be hunger, pain, slavery, abuse or any of the malevolent acts done by these sick individuals. My heart goes out to those harmed in Boston and to all humanity that are suffering for whatever reason.

Get up, get out, live life; every day we are reminded of how short it could be for any of us. It is a precious gift, use it!

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Setting Goals in Writing, Friends and Visitors, a Movie Review, Using My Words

April 10th, 2013

Let me apologize for the time it has taken me to get the post onto the webpage. Writing projects, visitors from the States and other distractions have worked their evil ways with me. My major accomplishment since my last entry has been the progress I’ve made on my second book. I’ve been able to add over 2,000 words (two more chapters). I managed that by setting a goal for myself of a minimum of 1,000 words a week. I promised myself I would not leave my desk until my daily quota was met. This method seems to be working out for me. It may not be for everyone but I do believe that everyone needs to find that thing that will help them to get their words onto paper. If any writers are reading my entries to this webpage, let me know what’s working for you. Other writing projects I’ve completed are a couple of article for “Peru this Week” as and restaurant review I have started. I will place links in here the minute they are published.

A small note of flattery, the American Embassy posted excerpts from one of my articles on their Facebook page. It felt good to know that someone liked my words enough to repost them as a travel recommendation here in Lima.

I met with Larry this past Friday at his home. We had a long discussion on our writing projects and other topics of interest. I also helped him build a Facebook page for his “Business English” website. It’s built to help people whose first language is not English learn how to write papers, give presentations and give help with other business related communications. Kathy wasn’t available afterwards for lunch but I do know that she will be headed to Chile this week to visit her son at the VLT installation. It stands for Very Large Telescope and is the largest on earth. Her son is a physicist and is doing work on the event horizons of Black Holes. I’m looking forward to hearing about her visit when she returns.

My friends, Anna and Doug Stevens, famously known as DnA, have arrived for a 10 day visit to Peru. I’ve shown them a little bit of Lima the first two days they were here. Steve and I took them on a drive to the coast next to Chorrillos, we had lunch at El Salto del Fraile, then to the top of Moro Solar to see the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and see the views of the skyline of Lima. The next day they toured the neighborhood I live in and rested up a bit. Tuesday morning at 4am, they took off for the Amazon. They will spend 5 days and 4 nights in the deep jungle and then return to Lima for another three days. It’s so nice to have visitors from back home again.

I watched a movie this past week that left me bamboozled. The movie, “Seven Psychopaths,” was interesting, disturbing, confusing, and very entertaining. Amongst others, it starred Colin Farrell and Woody Harrelson. It reminded me of a Quentin Tarrantino movie and it is certainly not for everyone, especially the kids. I give it 3.5 Llamas on my rating scale with a definite recommendation to rent it if you enjoy these types of movies.

That’s it for this post. Considering the length of time since the last one, I’m surprised it’s so short. Remember to get up and get out. Exercise you body and mind, get creative. Life’s way too short to spend it on the couch or locked in your abode. Love to all my family, friends and readers where ever you may be in the world.

 

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A New Maid, Writing, It’s a Process, Fun with Friends, a Movie Review, The Tax Man

April 1st, 2013

I’ve finally found a maid to replace Sonia. Her name is Monica, an odd name for a Peruvian woman. She started today (April 1) and naturally, she is going on a 25 day vacation starting tomorrow. The good thing, she brought her sister who will cover for her while she’s gone. I will be paying them a little extra for today, they’ve promised to scrub the place from top to bottom. They seem nice but time will tell. I’m hoping they do a good job and are honest, the two most important things.

My writing suffered somewhat this past week. The one day I had planned to write at a Café in Barranco didn’t work out. When I arrived, early as usual, nothing was open. The holidays had struck again. I did manage to get out and do an outline of four new characters this past week. I sat in Café Havana for a couple of hours people watching. I used a table of men enjoying a coffee together to get a physical description of each. Then, I made up little stories on them to get personalities and events from their past. It worked out well if I do say so myself. Work around the house and other projects kept me from the keyboard most of the week though. Now that I have a maid again, I’m hoping those distractions will be gone. My goal for the coming week is to get at least 1,000 words added to the book. Some progress was made on the writing front with articles for “Peru this Week.” I managed to write two from the tour I took the week before. In the meantime, another of my articles was published. Here’s the link for your reading pleasure.

http://www.peruthisweek.com/travel-348-lima-a-beautiful-drive-on-the-chorrillos-coast/

The Easter Holidays didn’t prevent the good times with my friends. Larry and I met at Espige de Oro in Barranco for our Friday morning coffee and chat. In typical fashion we discussed our progress with writing projects, economic issues, world politics, and other fascinating topics. No solutions this time, just good comradery. From there I took a cab into Miraflores to meet Kathy for lunch at the Lima Café. We mostly talked photography; she had just taken a class with a mutual friend, Isabel, who has a group called the “Photomaniacs.” She needs to get a better camera than the small Lumix she has now. Lunch was nice, they have great sandwiches there. Finally, home to meet up with Mona and Kelly on Facetime for Friday evening cocktails. Basketball was the main topic of conversation with a little travel stuff thrown in. They’ll be going to Cozumel again soon, unfortunately, I won’t be able to join them again this year.

I went to see GI Joe with Steve and Antonio this past week, the 3D version. What a waste of time and money. The 3D gave me a headache. There was so much stuff flying off the screen at you that it distracted from the actual movie. That might be a good thing since the plot was a rip off of other movies (Gold Finger comes to mind), you know, the one where the evil maniac wants to rule the world. The fight scenes were OK, the best of that lot being the one on the cliffs of a mountain in Tibet. I cannot in good conscience recommend this movie to anyone. I gave it a 1 Llama rating on my scale. If you absolutely have to see it, rent it. Even Mr. Die Hard himself couldn’t save this one.

Lastly, on a more personal level, I finished up my taxes this week and sent them off to the IRS. You gotta love the electronic age. I’ve used Turbo Tax for years and the convenience of submitting your tax forms electronically is wonderful. It’s especially nice for those of us spending most of the year in another country.

As always my friends have a great week. Get up, get out, exercise your body and mind.

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What’s a Thousand Words Worth, Life in Lima, Movie Review, a Tour to Eco-Truly Park and Castillo de Chancay

March 26th, 2013

Although unsuccessful on a daily basis, I had a burst of writing inspiration this past Friday and managed to finish chapter one and get a good start on chapter two of the Suitcase Murders. Over a thousand words added in a single sitting. So, what is a thousand words worth? A lot when you have been struggling just to sit down, put your fingers on the keyboard, and letting the words flow. Those words did bring up some issues though. I haven’t really fleshed out the five new characters I added to the book in part two. Rodriquez’s fellow squad members need personalities and differentiating looks. I plan to take tomorrow morning and go to a café in the local mall, La Rambla, and make notes on people I see and overhear as they have coffees with friends. Until Café Zeta reopens in its new location, I have to scour the local coffee shops for color and personalities. By the end of this week I hope to have completed another 1.5 chapters. Fingers crossed for me please! My article on my visit to Peru’s National Museum has been published. Here’s the link.

http://www.peruthisweek.com/travel-346-whats-new-at-perus-national-museum/

Life in Lima can present its ups and downs. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here. This past week my maid, Sonia, called and said she would be out for a month if not longer. They’ve discovered tumors, kidney stones, a problem with her liver and other ailments. Whether all of this is true or not, I have no idea. She may just be tired of trucking all the way over here by combi to clean my apartment once a week and this is her way of quitting. I like Sonia, she’s honest and a decent worker, something that may be hard to replace. As a result, I’m in the process of trying to find someone to clean this monster apartment. Plumbing problems cropped up again and I had to cancel my coffee meetings. Then the plumber didn’t show, typical of Peru. He’s come since though and the problem is resolved.  On the good news front, my landlords informed me that they would not be raising my rent for the coming year. I feared they might be pushing it up to the point where I couldn’t afford to live here. A disaster as far as I was concerned. Fall weather has arrived, another piece of good news. Although the sky is still sunny, the temps and humidity have dropped to tolerable levels. As a result, I managed to get a good walk in this past week with my camera. That always makes for a good day. One last piece of good news, the “Dollar” is strengthening against the “Sol.” That was really starting to worry me.

I purchased a DVD of the movie Hitchcock this week and watched it. What a great movie. Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren are absolutely fantastic in this film. I never knew of Alma’s (Hitchcock’s wife) contributions to his films. I have to give it 4.5 Llamas on my rating scale and recommend that everyone see it.

On Sunday my friend Larry and I took a tour to the province of Chancay. There we visited a castle located on the cliffs next to the Pacific Ocean. At first I was a little disappointed. The exterior of the castle looked a bit like a cheap imitation of something you might find in Epcot in Florida. My worries eased as we toured the interior. There are reportedly over 100 rooms in the castle and it acted as a home to a wealthy family. We were only allowed through a few of them. A trophy room for wild game, a section of living quarters and a museum made up the area we were allowed in. There are several restaurants/bars, gift shops, and a pool area for visitors to enjoy. Afterwards, we traveled south a short ways to a place called Eco-Truly Park and the Chakra y Mar beach. This is a Hari Krishna retreat. The beehive structures are beautiful and the grounds exude a sense of calm and peace. Besides tours of the place, they accept visitors who wish to stay in retreat or volunteers who would like to work. I will be doing articles for LiP on both visits.

That´s it for this entry, sorry it’s a little later than usual. The weekend proved to be a busy time for me. I hope all of you had a good start to the week and that the rest of the week is filled with happiness and peace. Remember to exercise body and brain.

Here’s the link to purchase my first book, “Sacrifice: The Prince Charming Murders,” for your Kindle or Kindle reading app on your android device or PC.

http://www.amazon.com/Sacrifice-Prince-Charming-Murders-ebook/dp/B00BEHT13A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364314951&sr=8-1&keywords=rodney+dodig

Murders most foul are being committed in Lima Peru and my intrepid detective and his squad work to bring the killer to justice.

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Words to Paper; How hard can it be?, Friends, Chores and Guests

March 18th, 2013

How hard can it be? I imagine that’s a question asked by almost every writer or wanna-be writer in the history of the world. The answer can vary from day to day, week to week, month to month, you get the picture. This past week proved to be an effort on the writing front for me. Various incidents, distractions, and outright laziness did their best to prevent my struggle to add words to my latest book, The Suitcase Murders. I did manage to get 500+ words added to the first chapter of part two on Friday. I also managed to bring five new characters into focus and name them. The only thing left is figuring out how they will interact with my detective over the course of this story. At this point I don’t plan to map this out in advance. I will let the story and their personalities dictate their responses to each other as I write. I imagine all the emotions will come into to play at some point; jealousy, anger, envy, like, admiration, etc.

On the writing front, I have decided to go ahead and try to submit regular articles to LiP’s Peru this Week. Weekly submissions would be nice but that might be hard to accomplish at first. They’re only looking for 500 – 600 words but even that can be difficult if I have a hard time finding topics to write about. Here is the link to my latest article on my recent trip to the Islas Ballestras off the coast of Paracas Peru.

http://www.peruthisweek.com/travel-343-the-wild-attractions-of-perus-islas-ballestas/

At the end of the article, note the links to both this webpage and the one to Amazon where my first book can be purchased for your Kindle or the Kindle Reader App. I’ve already submitted the article for this week and will post the link in next week’s entry. Also, here’s the link to my Author’s Page on Facebook. Please like it and follow my progress in getting my books published.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/RodneyLDodig

I met with my friends this week. Larry and I met Friday morning at Café Sama. Mark wasn’t able to join us due to business meetings. I always enjoy my individual conversations with Larry. We talked about books, publishing, contracts and some things going on in our personal lives. Naturally, we solved the world’s problems again in less than 30 minutes. Afterwards I went to the Mirabus Kiosk and purchased two tickets for a tour of Chancay that Larry and I wanted to do. That’s next Sunday so stay tuned for a write up on it. From there I met Kathy at Café Lima for snacks and a milkshake. No new news on her divorce, the real never ending story. Since Mark couldn’t make it on Friday, I met him Sunday morning for coffee back at Café Sama. We mostly chatted about personal stuff with a little economics thrown in to maintain a semblance of intellectual exchange. Mark is leaving for the US this week and will be gone for a couple of months at least. We’ll miss him at our weekly coffees till he gets back.

Last but not least, I talked with my friends Doug and Anna Stevens via Skype yesterday. They are coming for a visit on April 6th and we needed to discuss some last minute details. They will be bringing me a few items I need and wanted to ask a few last minute questions about plans for their time here in Lima. They’ll spend about 5 days here with me and 5 in the Amazon enjoying nature at its finest. I’m really looking forward to seeing them again and it’s so nice having someone come for a visit. My last piece of great news, I received an actual letter from Amanda J. White, good friend and author, using snail mail. I so enjoy getting actual letters and cards, especially since I have moved to Peru. I’ve written a letter back but still need to get it in the mail.

Have a great week everyone. Remember; exercise the body and the brain. All muscles are important to a good life.

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Writing is Hell, the Museum, Coffees and a Lunch, Beautiful People, Living in Peru, Aunt Marion, Other Musings

March 11th, 2013

Writing is hell; well maybe that statement is a little over blown. I have finished with the edits and revisions of the first part of the Suitcase Murders. I’ve also started the first chapter of part two of the book. The problem, I quickly came to the realization that I needed to be more knowledgeable about crime lab forensics of the mid 1980s. Research takes time and that time takes away from writing. I recently read an article by a successful writer who stated that you should write the book first and do your research afterwards. When I think about it, that makes sense. So my writing project for this week will involve outlining some chapters first and then expanding on the outlines to see where they take me. That method worked for me in book one. As I get to places where the forensics need inserted, I will make a note, mark the spot and come back to it later. From what I’ve discovered so far, there wasn’t a lot available in those days so my detective will have to use his deductive reasoning to help solve these cases.

I dropped off the manuscript to Sacrifice: The Prince Charming Murders at the offices of Living in Peru this past week. Carsten emailed me stating that they were interested in publishing my books and asked for a copy. I got to meet with the two editors, Nick and Alix, to discuss my becoming a regular contributor to the webzine again. It’s called “Peru This Week” now and to begin with I will contribute article to a variety of columns (travel, culture, food, etc.). Eventually, if it works out, I will have my own blog/Column and be expected to contribute a weekly submission. The important thing about this for me, it will be a great platform for advertising my books and the webpage.

I received a bit of sad news this week. One of my aunts passed away after a long battle with diabetes and Alzheimer’s. I don’t have a favorite aunt. They all treated me wonderfully when I was growing up whether they were aunts by blood or marriage. Aunt Marion was one of my Mother’s younger sisters and to my young mind the most interesting. I would best describe her as bohemian before it became popular. She wore large flowing dresses with colorful scarves and maintained what were to me, radical liberal ideas. That and she loved spiders. I know her children and grandchildren will miss her terribly. Buen viaje my dear Aunt, you are once again part of the great cosmos. You left this earth much loved.

Coffee with Larry and Mark this week was lively and interesting as always. Mark will be traveling back to the USA in a couple of weeks and we talked about his travel plans. Issues of economics and politics, mostly Peruvian, were part of the mornings discourse. Naturally, present health issues for all three of us were on the table for discussion, nothing serious. As I used to say when I was a young man, “old people talk.” I met with Kathy twice this week, once for a coffee and once for lunch. She is planning a trip with a friend. They want to pass through some parts of northern Peru and then do some traveling in parts of Ecuador including the Galapagos Islands. Sounds like fun. Larry and I will be buying our tickets for the Chancay tour this week also.

Steve and I went to see the movie “Beautiful People” this past week. It is an adaptation from the book of the same title for the young adult crowd, whatever that means.  Although I don’t regret going to see it, I regret that I paid theater prices to see it. There was a little humor, a lot of bad acting, a very predictable plot and some good special effects. Despite the parts of the movie I enjoyed, I am forced to give it 1.5 Llamas on my rating scale. If you are somewhere between the ages of 13 and 16 you’ll probably like the movie. Other than that I can’t even recommend that you buy/rent it of DVD.

One of my joys of living in Lima Peru is visiting the National Museum every few months. They bring in new exhibits on a regular basis which means new visual pleasures. This past Sunday I walked over, it’s only a few blocks from my apartment, to see what new delights they were offering. I wasn’t disappointed. They had a photographic display of a religious festival called “Virgen la Puerta de Otuzco.” The festival takes place in the region of La Libertad in the city of Otuzco. Parades, music, donkey races and much more take place over a few days in December. In addition a display of native dolls occupied one of the salons, and new paintings were put on display from Peruvian artists of the 40s and 50s. My favorite was an exhibit called “Symbols of Power,” which held examples of works in gold and silver from the Moche and Chimu cultures.

Wow, a long entry this week. Make sure you get out and enjoy the cultural offerings no matter where you are. Expand your mind and exercise the body. It will make life so much better. Have a great week everyone.

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